"Noelle, how could you speak to Mom like that?"Before Matilda could say anything, Sandra had already rushed over, looking at Noelle with reddened eyes. "She genuinely cares about you. You can't misunderstand her like this!"Noelle no longer wanted to be entangled with them. She only felt disgusted looking at them now. Without answering Sandra, she turned to leave."Noelle!"Sandra wanted to chase after her, but Matilda stopped her and shouted at Noelle, "Fine! Noelle, once you walk out the door, don't even think about coming back. You can starve out there for all I care."Hearing this, Noelle paused for a moment.Matilda thought she had reconsidered her actions, but to her surprise, Noelle turned around and said, "Then, I thank you for that."She was calm as ever, but this was seen as indifference to Matilda. It was like a venomous snake watching its prey while flicking its tongue ominously.Matilda couldn't help but take two steps back, her face turning pale.Sandra quickly
Hendrix's question caught Noelle off guard. She thought she had misheard him for a moment.It took her several seconds to regain her senses. A faint smile curled at the corners of her lips. "Mr. Freeman, don't you think it's too late to ask this question now?"Hendrix narrowed his eyes slightly. He assumed she was just throwing a tantrum the first time when she brought up divorce.He could only tolerate her whims once. Therefore, he agreed without hesitation the second time when she mentioned it.Was it out of spite? It probably was.However, he was even more certain that she would regret it. Yet, it seemed that he was wrong now.He had learned about her past just two days ago. Her adoptive father, William, was sentenced to prison, while her adoptive mother, Cynthia, was in a coma and lying in a hospital.She had never mentioned any of it to him.Only then did he realize that he might never have truly known her."But whatever the reason is, it doesn't matter now." Noelle's voi
Noelle collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep almost instantly before she was unsurprisingly caught in a nightmare.Half of her pillow was soaked with tears when she woke up. The sky outside had brightened with the arrival of dawn.She sat on the bed momentarily before she reached for her phone.She had anticipated a flood of messages and calls. However, there were surprisingly none. There wasn't a trace of news online, nor even the faintest whisper within their circle.Ruth would normally have seized the chance to mock and ridicule her if she had caught wind of such a thing. However, she hadn't made her move yet. This could only mean that someone had suppressed the news.The person who was capable of doing that was self-evident.However, Noelle immediately dismissed the thought when it crossed her mind. After all, how could that be possible?She couldn't think of any other explanation apart from that.She kept an eye out for related rumors for the next few days, but nothing ab
Maxwell said without waiting for Noelle to respond, "Have you heard about it? I'm getting engaged to the Swanson family."Noelle had just picked up her fork and taken a bite of the cake. She slowly set her fork down at his words and nodded."To Sandra," she replied. "I know.""I heard you've severed ties with the Swansons." Maxwell lowered his gaze and said, "We would have been engaged now if that didn't happen."He laughed this time, though the smile never reached his eyes no matter how hard he tried. The corners of his lips carried an endless bitterness.Noelle paused momentarily before saying, "You can talk to them if you don't want to…"He shook his head. "They brought me back just to squeeze every ounce of value out of me. I've met over a dozen people in just over 20 days.""Value?" She frowned. "Wouldn't a successful marriage alliance be a threat to them? Why would they…"He cut her off, "You don't know, do you? Gabriel's crippled after the last car accident. It means he
Hendrix's blunt question left Sandra hesitant.She lowered her head and nervously fidgeted with the hem of her dress for a moment before softly replying, "I'm not entirely sure. But he and Noelle were very close back when we were in school."Hendrix remained silent.Sandra was worried he might misunderstand and quickly explained, "But Maxwell went abroad to study not long after. I'm sure there's nothing between them. I feel like I shouldn't be engaged with him even if that's the case. "Rix, do you think I'm being selfish? Am I a terrible person? My family needs me now more than ever, but I…"Her eyes reddened as she spoke.Hendrix remained silent. He merely lowered his gaze and was lost in thought.Sandra bit her lips and continued, "Rix, what did you talk to my dad about last time? I… I really don't want to get married now. Can you help me?"She extended her hand and was about to tug at his sleeves as she spoke before her phone suddenly rang. She startled at the sound of the
"Ma'am, please calm down. Let's find a place to talk this through…" The hotel staff desperately tried to restrain Ruth when the door in front of them suddenly opened.Noelle was indeed inside. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her cheeks were unnaturally flushed, yet her gaze was icy."Well, well! So you are here! Where's your lover? Is Maxwell hiding inside? Let me…"Noelle ignored Ruth entirely and strode over to Sandra in just a quick few steps.Her movement was so swift that Sandra barely had the time to react before Noelle snatched the phone from her hand."Noelle…" Sandra was about to say something when Noelle deleted the video she had recorded and smashed the phone without hesitation."What are you doing?" Ruth had intended to barge in to find Maxwell before she was startled by the commotion. She immediately rushed forward to protect Sandra.However, Noelle didn't give them a chance to recover. She raised her hand and delivered a crisp slap across Sandra's face."S
Noelle straightened her back and lifted her head to kiss Hendrix on the lips.However, Hendrix quickly turned his head and evaded her attempt.Her body stiffened for a brief moment before she lowered her head and extended her tongue to trace it lightly over the sharp line of his Adam's apple without hesitation.Hendrix's body tensed instantly. He then grasped her chin and forced her to look up at him.Her eyes were already reddened, and her loose hair framed her face in damp strands. She looked like a helpless kitten caught in a stormy night.Hendrix frowned slightly.However, Noelle paid no heed to his reaction and extended her hands to tug at his belt without hesitation.He had intended to stop her before her phone rang. He glanced at it and caught Maxwell's name displayed on the screen.The familiar sound of the ringtone seemed to jolt her back to her senses. Her body stiffened slightly before Noelle turned to reach for the hand gripping her chin.Yet, Hendrix's warm hand c
Noelle had no idea where she had headed afterward.It felt as though her world had shrunk to house only Hendrix. She clung to him throughout the time as though she could not stand on her own, surrendering entirely to his demands.…The unrestrained indulgence took a toll on Noelle's body, leaving her feeling as though she had been run over by a truck when she woke up the next day. Her throat was parched and burning.A sharp pain shot through her calf as soon as she tried to move.She couldn't help but let out a soft groan, lying still on the bed for a moment before slowly lifting her head.The room looked unfamiliar to her. It wasn't her tiny rental apartment, nor was it Nivis Villa.However, Hendrix owned numerous properties in Coppersville, so it didn't surprise her that he owned a place like this.Noelle didn't have the time to dwell on it at the moment. She bent down to pick up her clothes from the floor before putting them on slowly and carefully.Her phone had finally po
The caregiver clearly hadn't encountered anything like this before. What made it worse was that Craig had only just woken up—not long ago, he'd been at death's door.Everyone knew he couldn't afford to get too worked up. But seeing his furious state now, the caregiver didn't even dare to calm him down.However, Noelle remained calm. After enduring the burning pain on her lower leg, she continued walking toward him.Craig clearly hadn't expected her to shamelessly approach despite everything. He grabbed the cup in his hand, ready to throw it at her again. But before he could, Noelle firmly pressed his hand down. Then, she turned to the caregiver and said, "Leave us for now."The caregiver, already feeling out of place, let out a sigh of relief at Noelle's words and promptly left the room.Noelle turned to look at Craig. "So, I take it you've heard about the situation at the company?""What do you think? I knew it! I just knew it! What kind of person is Hendrix? The moment he hande
Hendrix didn't have eyes on the back of his head, so this time, the pillow hit its mark. But he didn't even pause, nor did he turn to look at her. He simply walked out as if nothing had happened.Noelle suddenly felt everything was… pointless. In front of him, she couldn't change a single thing.It was like the pillow she'd thrown. She had hurled with all the fury she could muster, but ultimately, it didn't hurt him. All it did was make her seem even more foolish.…Noelle ended up going to the hospital. On the way, she saw the statement Dylan had released.He hadn't outright announced that their wedding was off. Instead, he said it was being postponed. As for how long the postponement would last, the statement didn't specify.But most people understood that "postponed" was just a polite way of saying canceled. Over time, as the delay dragged on and people eventually forgot about it, the wedding would quietly fade away without ever being officially called off.Noelle stared at t
Noelle's slap was purely reflexive, as Hendrix was far too close to her. In truth, she knew that with his reflexes, he could have easily caught her hand and stopped her if he wanted to. But he didn't.The handprint from last night still lingered on his face, and now, it had been joined by a fresh one. A darkly ironic thought crossed Noelle's mind—at least his face was symmetrical now."Did you have a nightmare?" Hendrix asked, seemingly unfazed by the pain.Noelle didn't answer."Everything's okay. It's just a dream," Hendrix said, as if to himself. He continued getting dressed. "I'll be very busy today, so I won't join you for breakfast. You can go visit Craig at the hospital later. Oh, and while you're there, let him know the wedding with Dylan has been called off. As for the company, once I've taken care of things, I'll explain it to him myself."His words were succinct, leaving no room for discussion."What are you planning to do?" Noelle asked.Hendrix's hand paused sligh
Now that Noelle had withered and faded away, any belated attention and care were meaningless.She was about to close her eyes again, but in the next moment, something on the dressing table caught her attention. If she wasn't mistaken, the set of skincare products sitting there was from her usual brand.Then, her gaze shifted to the curtain ties on the bay window, followed by the glass doors of the walk-in closet across the room. Through the transparent panels, she spotted clothes that looked all too familiar.It was at that moment Noelle realized—he had brought over all the things she had once left behind here. But the truth was, those items weren't really hers.The clothes had been the ones Beatrice insisted she buy, so she could live up to the title of "Mrs. Freeman" whenever she stepped out. They weren't bought with her own money, which was why Noelle hadn't taken them when she left.As for the skincare products, they were probably expired by now.Just as Noelle's thoughts wan
Noelle had never imagined that returning to Nivis Villa would look like this. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, on the day she left, she hadn't thought she would ever come back at all.It seemed Hendrix had dismissed all the maids, as the villa was completely dark when they entered.Hendrix led Noelle directly upstairs to the master bedroom. The furnishings inside seemed to have changed, but before Noelle could take in what was different, Hendrix had already pushed her onto the bed.He hadn't spoken a single word the entire way, though his face remained clouded with anger. Now, his actions were devoid of any gentleness. But Noelle had expected this, so she wasn't surprised in the slightest.She didn't resist either and simply lay there expressionlessly.Her unresponsive demeanor must have provoked Hendrix's dissatisfaction, because the next instant, he lowered his head and sank his teeth into her neck.He bit hard—so hard that Noelle could feel his teeth breaking her s
"Noe—" Dylan started, but Noelle didn't even glance at him.Instead, she strode directly toward Hendrix, stopping in front of him. "Let's go," she said hoarsely.Hendrix narrowed his eyes.Noelle, however, wasn't in the mood to think about anything else. She reached out and grabbed his arm without hesitation.Hendrix didn't put up any resistance, but just as they were about to leave, Dylan seemed to snap out of his daze and grabbed Noelle's other hand.The movement made Hendrix's expression darken, and he was about to say something when Noelle turned to Dylan first."There's no need to feel bad about this. I didn't choose you, either. With Elm Group in its current state, I can only take the path that benefits the company the most. I'd been thinking about how to tell you, but now, it doesn't matter. Neither of us has to feel guilty anymore. "As for the wedding… let's cancel it."With that, she pried Dylan's hand off her wrist and firmly pulled Hendrix forward.The club was sti
Hendrix didn't reply. Instead, he simply tossed the folder in his hand to Dylan.Dylan glanced down at the folder. Something flickered across his eyes, but in the end, he reached out and took it.The moment he skimmed the first few pages, his face turned as pale as a sheet, and his grip on the documents tightened instinctively.After a moment, Dylan finally looked at Hendrix. "What's the meaning of this?"Hendrix let out a soft laugh. "What do you think it means?"Dylan quickly regained his composure and asked, "Where did you get these?""That's not something you need to concern yourself with.""So? What do you want?"Sitting on the couch, Hendrix leisurely poured him a glass of wine and took a sip. Throughout the entire process, he maintained his usual elegance and composure, whereas Dylan's expression grew darker and darker.Finally, Hendrix said, "What do I want? I thought I'd already made it very clear.""Mr. Freeman, we're both men. Don't you think using tactics like thi
Hendrix grew exasperated. When he heard the sound of the door lock turning, he lifted his head and barked, "Get lost!"The single, decisive shout silenced everything outside instantly. Even the woman in his arms went completely still.Noelle seemed to realize that her resistance was futile. The hands she had been pressing against his chest slowly dropped away, and even the tears in her eyes vanished in that moment.She slowly sank back and tilted her head upward. Then, she simply stared at the glaring incandescent light with eyes filled with emptiness.Hendrix stared at her for a while before suddenly laughing. "Are you really that upset? Or do you feel wronged? Does it really hurt you so much to leave him?"He was smiling, even forcing a mocking tone into his words, but his hands were trembling uncontrollably. It was a pain that started deep in his chest, spreading through his bloodstream until it reached his fingertips.Noelle didn't answer him, but her expression was as good a
Hendrix reached out and gripped Noelle's chin. In a deep voice laced with a clear trace of anger, he asked, "You've fallen for Dylan, haven't you?"Noelle didn't answer, but she pressed her lips tighter and tighter. Her eyes still brimmed with tears, but the moisture only made them shine more brightly, more vividly. In their reflection, Hendrix could see himself clearly, and he could also see the unmistakable hatred within them.She hated him. Hendrix knew that, of course. From the moment he decided to take this path, he had already anticipated how she would react.But so what? Was he supposed to stand by and watch as they became nothing more than strangers who had nothing to do with each other?If that were the case, Hendrix would rather she hated him.He could live with that outcome—it wasn't something he couldn't accept. But the one thing he absolutely couldn't tolerate was her heart belonging to someone else.She could hate him because of the incident with Elm Group, beca